How did we do with the literature reivew (Doc 0.1) submissions

• Basic stats:
  • Median word counts: 1611
  • Median # of citations: 12
  • Avg. paragraph: 5
• The Goods
  • Well articulated
• The Not-so-greats
  • Lacks synergies with literature reviews in relevant fields
    • formatting
    • lengths
    • contains conclusions
  • Limited theoretical framework/backing

Quick flash back on Document 1 submission

• Research-paper like
• ~80% of work needed to draft a research paper as it contains:
  • Abstract
  • Literature Review
  • Methodology
  • Hypothesis/Anticipated Conclusions
  • Relevant References
• How is this different from a research proposal?

Informational Interview/Coffee Chat

• What they are:
  • Professional/Casual Networking tools
    • Potential mentors, collaborators, future job opportunities
  • Sitting down with people who have started a career
  • Gather insights and build professional relationships
• Learning Opportunity
  • Someone’s firsthand experience
  • challenges & successes
  • career paths
  • realistic picture of what to expect in a particular field or role (Not an ask, but preferrably something that we can look at)

Setting Expectation

• Neither should bear agenda to secure job offer
• Learn and build connections
• Experience informational interview as a long-term investment
• Start building/expanding professional network
• The group project is a teaser of what you will likely experience going further into your career (irregardless of disciplines)

Quick Q&A on Information interviews

• Do you think you have a better idea of what these are by now?
• Any questions that you may have before we dive deeper into how to design/prepare for one?

Identify Person(s) of Intersts

• Who to reach out to?
  • Industry Leaders and Role Models
  • Alumni Network
  • Professional Associations
• Utilizing LinkedIn:
  • Advanced Sesarch Features
    • Filter professionals by industry, company, role and even location
  • LinkedIn Groups: Join groups of related interests.
• How to narrow scope of search?
  • Finding Common Grounds
    • Shared Interests
    • Recent Publications or Talks
  • Leverage Existing Connections: Academic/Industry
• Demo

Crafting Effective Cold Messages

Key Components:

1. Subject Line: Clear and engaging subject line that conveys the purpose of the message.
2. Personalized Greetings: Use the receipient’s name and personalized remark/compliment on recent accomplishments;
3. Introduction and Purpose: brief but effective.
4. Purpose Statement: seek advice, insights, experiences related to field of interest;
5. Make Connection: highlight commonalities shared with receipient
6. Experss Genuine Intersts
7. Specific Request: Call to Action with Flexibility
8. Politeness and Conciseness
9. Closing and Signature

Let’s checkout some examples. Give a probability that you will respond to a message that you receive on LinkedIn. (3 Examples)

Reaching Out:

Choosing the Right Platform:

• Platform Etiquette:
  • Norms and best practices for different platforms (LinkedIn, email, professional forums)
  • Initial outreach varies accordingly
• Professional Channels:
  • using professional channels for communication is important
  • make sure your profiles on these platforms are up-to-date and professional.
    • What do we mean by professional?

Timing and Frequency:

• Optimal Timing:
  • best times to send messages: avoiding weekends, late nights, and major holidays
  • the likelihood of a timely response improves accordingly.
• Follow-up Strategy:
  • follow-up strategy involves a waiting period (typically 1-2 weeks)
  • a polite follow-up message if there’s no initial response.

Reaching Out (Continued)

Managing Outreach Volume:

• Tracking System:
  • set up a simple tracking system (like a spreadsheet) to monitor whom you’ve contacted,
  • when, and any responses or follow-up actions needed.
• Balanced Approach:
  • ideally no mass messaging.
  • a balanced, targeted approach to outreach,
  • focusing on quality and personalization over quantity.

Dealing with Responses:

Positive Responses:

• Immediate Acknowledgment:
  • respond promptly to positive replies,
  • expressing gratitude for the willingness to engage and
  • proposing potential times for the chat or meeting.
• Preparation:
  • being well-prepared for the interaction,
  • with specific questions and goals in mind.

Negative or No Responses:

• Handling Rejection:
  • not everyone will have the time or interest to respond
  • it’s not a reflection of their worth or the quality of their outreach.
  • aka it might be very frustrating.
• Learning from Silence:
  • how would a lack of response offer learning opportunities?
  • should you change your outreach strategy or message content?

Know Your Client (KYC)

Do your homework so that you do not make mistakes.

Research Basics

• Background Check: reviewing linkedin profile, professional biographies, recent publications, news mentions.
  • social engineering （Searching, 2018)
• Understanding their work:
  • familiarize with the professional’s role/projects/contributions
  • understanding the context and significance of their work

Contextual Undersatnding

• Know the Industry: major trends, challenges and opportunities
• Company Culture: culture and values of where they work/associate with for talking points

Know Your Client (KYC) Cont’d

Preparing Questions: Structured/Semi-structured

• Informed Questions: Informed and Open-Ended, reflecting their research and curiosity about the professional
• Personalized Inquiry: avoid overly general or easily Google-able questions
• Object-Oriented: what do you want to achieve through the interviews
  • get first-hand critique on the discipline
  • know what day-to-day is like at the particular industry
• Set an agenda: what will happen if you don’t have one?

Take 10min to social-engineer a professional

• do research on a potential interviewee that you might be interested in investigating
• you should cover at least the following:
  • their professional role
  • list out companies they worked for
  • their career highlight/work most proud of
  • identify interviews/podcasts/presentation where they gave public opinion and based on those
  • come up with two questions that you think is relevant to ask

Meet Your Client

Showing Engagement:

• Active Engagement:
  • active listening,
  • showing interest through body language (in person or on video calls), and
  • asking follow-up questions based on the discussion.
• Note-taking:
  • taking brief notes during the conversation (with permission) to capture key points and advice,
  • demonstrates engagement and respect for the professional’s insights.

Respect and Professionalism:

• Time Management:
  • be mindful of the agreed-upon time for the conversation and
  • to avoid overextending unless the professional indicates they’re willing to continue.
• Confidentiality:
  • the need to respect any confidential or sensitive information shared during the conversation.

Meet Your Client (Continued)

Post-Interaction Reflection:

Reflective Practice:

• Review and Reflect:
  • review their notes and reflect on the conversation soon after,
  • identifying key learnings and any follow-up actions they might take.
• Feedback Loop:
  • consider what went well and what could be improved for future interactions
  • mindset of continuous improvement.

Mock Interview (If we have time ~ 15min)

• one-on-one practice: professional vs. student interviewer
• work together and determine who the professional will shadow (a real person)
• KYC on industry/persona individually
• student interviewer to come up with 3 questions as structured interview and one follow-up during the conversation
• student/professional to swap (if we have time)

Activities

1. Vote to review one literature review that was submitted (anonymized on mentimeter).
2. Selected literature reviewed by peers with the following criteria:

• Objective: Does the literature review sufficiently present its objective?
• Landscape: Do you think the literature review presented a clear theoretical framework of what are the relevant studies and state-of-the art research landscape?
• Caveat/Importance: Does the literature review present any clear indication that there is room for investigation of any existing caveats?
• Citations: Do you think the number of citations included is enough/adequate?
• Improvements: Anything that the author can do to strengthen the literature review?
• Challenge: On the topics that were discussed in the literature review, can you quickly leverage google scholar to find additional ones that investigates similar things?

3. We will review the remainder three of the five documents (so long as time permits) for this week.

Addendum: Checklist for successful literature review

1. Clarity and Coherence:

• Clear Objective: Define the specific goals and scope of the literature review.
• Logical Structure: Organize content in a logical manner, facilitating easy navigation and understanding.
• Language and Terminology: Use clear, concise language appropriate for an interdisciplinary audience, avoiding unnecessary jargon.

2. Problem Statement and Importance:

• Well-defined Issue: Clearly articulate the problem or research question the literature review addresses.
• Significance: Explain the importance and relevance of the problem within the context of design and computer science.
• Gap Identification: Highlight gaps or shortcomings in existing research that the literature review aims to address.

Addendum: Checklist for successful literature review (Cont’d)

3. Theoretical Framework:

• Conceptual Underpinnings: Present the theories or models that underlie the research area.
• Framework Integration: Demonstrate how the theoretical framework informs the literature review’s approach and analysis.
• Interdisciplinary Relevance: Ensure the framework is relevant and accessible to both design and computer science perspectives.

4. Comprehensive Coverage:

• Breadth and Depth: Cover a wide range of sources while diving deep into critical studies.
• Diverse Sources: Include academic journals, conference papers, books, and reputable online resources relevant to both fields.
• Timeliness: Ensure the inclusion of both foundational texts and recent research to reflect the current state of knowledge.

5. Critical Analysis:

• Comparative Analysis: Compare and contrast different studies, highlighting similarities and differences.
• Methodological Evaluation: Assess the methodologies used in key studies for their strengths and limitations.
• Theoretical Critique: Critically evaluate the theories discussed in the literature for their applicability and limitations in the interdisciplinary context.

Addendum: Checklist for successful literature review (Cont’d)

6. Synthesis:

• Thematic Organization: Synthesize literature thematically rather than summarizing each source individually.
• Insight Generation: Derive new insights or perspectives from the synthesis of the reviewed literature.
• Interdisciplinary Integration: Fuse insights from design and computer science to create a cohesive understanding.

7. Relevance to Research Question:

• Alignment: Ensure all reviewed literature contributes to answering the research question or addressing the problem statement.
• Application: Discuss how findings from the literature review apply to the specific intersection of design and computer science.

8. Source Evaluation:

• Credibility Assessment: Evaluate the credibility and reliability of each source.
• Bias and Perspective: Acknowledge potential biases in the literature and strive for a balanced perspective.

Addendum: Checklist for successful literature review (Cont’d)

9. Conclusions and Implications:

• Summary of Findings: Concisely summarize key findings and their implications for the research area.
• Future Research Directions: Identify areas where further research is needed, especially at the intersection of design and computer science.

10. Documentation and Referencing:

• Consistent Formatting: Adhere to a consistent citation style appropriate for the interdisciplinary audience.
• Accurate Citations: Ensure all sources are accurately cited within the text and in the reference list.

11. Reflection on Interdisciplinarity:

• Integration Challenges: Discuss any challenges encountered in integrating design and computer science literature and how they were addressed.
• Value of Interdisciplinary Approach: Reflect on how the interdisciplinary approach enriches the understanding of the topic.

Revisiting Report Submission

• Document 0: Research Statement (Extended Abstract)
• Document 0.1: Literature Review
• Document 0.2: Methodology & Data Needed/Collected: Due Mar 23rd
• Document 1: Research Proposal(Paper-like): Due Apr. 23rd

Resaerch Process in Flow Chart

Checklist for your final research proposal/paper submission

Elements that you’ve finalized:

• Research Problem Definition (Doc 0):
  • Articulated innovative challenge or aspect addressed.
  • Contextualized within industry/societal needs.
• Relevant Concepts and Theories (Doc 0.1):
  • Reviewed key theories underpinning the innovation area.
  • Included interdisciplinary approaches.
• Previous Research Findings (Doc 0.1):
  • Highlighted past innovations and research.
  • Noted successes and gaps for building upon/addressing.

Ready to be finalized:

• Hypothesis Formulation (Doc 0.2):
  • Developed clear, testable hypotheses predicting innovation outcomes.
• Research Design Formulation (Doc 0.2):
  • Outlined approapriate research methodologies/technologies to be used.
  • Discussed feasibility and potential impact of proposed research design.

Research Progress Check

Insofar, Your Design Should Provide:

• Evidence for Hypothesis:
  • Detailed data collection/analysis plan for hypothesis testing.
  • Consideration on data sources/appropriate technologies deployed in their collection.
• Significance:
  • Connected significance to societal/industry/academic trends.
  • Highlighted contribution to knowledge/innovation advancement.
• Implementation and Scalability:
  • Discuss real-world implementation pathways.
  • Address potential scalability barriers.
• Ethical Considerations and Sustainability:
  • Outline ethical considerations of the innovation.
  • Address sustainability of the proposed solution.

Final Step in Finalizing Research

As Finalizing the Proposal (Doc 1):

• Integration and Synthesis:
  • Ensured alignment of all proposal components with innovation/research goals.
• Stakeholder Engagement:
  • Identified key stakeholders: beneficiaries, participants, impacted communities.
  • Included stakeholder engagement plans: evidencing the effectiveness of proposed solution/design
• Consideration of Future Directions:
  • Speculated on future research directions to further the innovation.

Minard’s plot

Napoleon Invasion of Russia

Instruments to help people reason about quantitative information.

Above all else show the data.

Topics that we could cover:

• Scales of data
• Omission and inclusion of data that speaks
• Different quantitative plots thereof
• Woring with the temporal dimensions
• Goods and bads of 3D plot